After an investigation showed that thousands of mistakes have been made in mailing out tickets from speed cameras, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has responded, insisting that the cameras are doing what they are supposed to do and slowing down speeders.

Emanuel defended the speed cameras, saying that people receive a warning before they get a ticket. He also said that when people are falsely issued a ticket, their money is refunded, saying, "we have a process to handle that."

"It is achieving the goal of bringing safety in and around our parks and our schools, and the data is pretty clear about that, to help our families and children either play in a park or go to a school," Emanuel said Wednesday.

An analysis done by the Chicago Tribune shows that the city must reimburse $2.4 million in bad tickets that were issued when the parks were closed, there was no warning sign or there were no children present at the time.

Critics of the speed camera program say it was never about safety, but instead about making money for the city. The busiest camera, located on 127th Street near the Major Taylor Bike Trail, has raised nearly $4 million in fines.

Drivers can check the status of their tickets online before the city proactively reaches out to them if their tickets have been dismissed by visiting the finance page on the City of Chicago website and clicking the "Search for Tickets" button on the right side of the page.